britain and decolonisation the retreat from empire in the post war world the making of the twentieth century

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In the 25 years after 1945 Britain's worldwide empire fell to piece and Britain ceased to be a great power. Britain abandoned her Indian Empire, gave up her rule over the African and Asian Colonies, surrendered her premier position in the Middle East and withdrew from almost all the bases - like Aden and Singapore - which had once been the 'tollgates and barbicans of empire'. At the same time, she gave up the long tradition of aloofness from Europe and entered the EEC. How did these vast changes in Britain's world position come about? Was Britain driven into imperial retreat by the main force of Afro-Asian nationalism and superpower pressure? Were the colonial transfers of power a noble and timely recognition or the political maturity of the colonial peoples, as Harold Macmillan once claimed? Or had Britain weighed the costs and benefits of empire in an age of rapid economic and international change, and decided that the colonial game was not worth the financial candle? If so, how are the apparent contradictions in British policy to be explained - the dangerous adventure at Suez, the extensive commitments East of Suez not terminated until 1971 and the Falklands war? How far indeed were the British able to control events in their colonial territories? And why did some colonies become independent so much earlier than others? This book describes the aims and policies which the British tried to pursue in their last imperial age and examines the conflicting explanations put forward for Britain's part in decolonisation - that great reordering of world politics that has taken place since 1945.

As the greatest imperial power before 1939 Britain played a leading role in the great post-war shift in the relationship between the West and the Third World which we call 'decolonisation'. But why did decolonisation come about and what were its effects? Was nationalism in colonial societies or indifference in Britain the key factor in the dissolution of the British Empire? Was the decay of British power and influence an inevitable consequence of imperial decline? Did British policies in the last phase of empire reflect an acceptance of decline or the hope that it could be postponed indefinitely by timely concessions? This book aims to answer these questions in a general account of Britain's post-war retreat from empire.

Britain and Empire fills a major gap in the literature on Britain’s gradual abandonment of her global and imperial role. It relates formal decolonization and the wider evolution of the Commonwealth to changes in international relations and in Britain’s domestic political, economic, and social scene. The concept of imperial decline is therefore seen in the context of adjustment to changing international and domestic politics and the ending of the imperial mind-set.

The Oxford History of the British Empire is a major new assessment of the Empire in the light of recent scholarship and the progressive opening of historical records. From the founding of colonies in North America and the West Indies in the seventeenth century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the twentieth, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. The Oxford History of the British Empire as a comprehensive study allows us to understand the end of Empire in relation to its beginnings, the meaning of British imperialism for the ruled as well as the rulers, and the significance of the British Empire as a theme in world history. Volume IV considers many aspects of the 'imperial experience' in the final years of the British Empire, culminating in the mid-century's rapid processes of decolonization. It seeks to understand the men who managed the empire, their priorities and vision, and the mechanisms of control and connection which held the empire together. There are chapters on imperial centres, on the geographical 'periphery' of empire, and on all its connecting mechanisms, including institutions and the flow of people, money, goods, and services. The volume also explores the experience of 'imperial subjects' - in terms of culture, politics, and economics; an experience which culminated in the growth of vibrant, often new, national identities and movements and, ultimately, new nation-states. It concludes with the processes of decolonization which reshaped the political map of the late twentieth-century world.

The modern British Commonwealth, linking fifty countries around the world in voluntary association, cooperation, and consultation, is a unique body in world history. The area of its member countries covers a third of the globe and collectively their peoples represent a quarter of the world's total population. Though essentially different from the British Empire from which it originated, the Commonwealth shares many common historical ties with Britain. Patricia M. Larby and Harry Hannam have assembled an unrivaled body of literature to illustrate the growth of the Empire into the Commonwealth. This extensive bibliography identifies, lists, and annotates the most important publications on the development and growth of the Commonwealth; its present status and functions; and its role in education, literature, sport, and the arts and sciences. It includes its historical origins: its cooperation in economics, politics, and international issues such as the environment; and its many spheres of professional activity including medicine, law, and architecture. Strong emphasis is placed on the role of the English language in the Commonwealth and as a medium for creative literature in many disparate cultures worldwide. "The Commonwealth "appears at a time when this unique organization is on the threshold of a new era in its history. The proposals emerging from the 1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting include statements on democracy and human rights; environmental affairs; and global concerns such as international crime, drug abuse, and AIDS. No previous comprehensive bibliography of the Commonwealth exists, and this volume fills a long-standing gap in the bibliographical coverage. It will be an essential reference source for libraries and scholars involved in Commonwealth studies and will be of particular interest to historians, political scientists, economists, and educators.

The decline of British power in Asia, from a high point in 1905, when Britain’s ally Japan vanquished the Russian Empire, apparently reducing the perceived threat that Russia posed to its influence in India and China, to the end of the twentieth century, when British power had dwindled to virtually nothing, is one of the most important themes in understanding the modern history of East and Southeast Asia. This book considers a range of issues that illustrate the significance and influence of the British Empire in Asia and the nature of Britain’s imperial decline. Subjects covered include the challenges posed by Germany and Japan during the First World War, British efforts at international co-operation in the interwar period, the British relationship with Korea and Japan in the wake of the Second World War, and the complicated path of decolonisation in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Within twenty years of victory in the Second World War Britain had ceased to be a world power and her global empire has dissolved into fragments. With what now seems astonishing rapidity, and empire three centuries old, which had reached its greatest extent as late as 1921, was transformed into more than fifty sovereign states. Why did this great transformation come about? Had Britain simply become too weak in a world of superpowers? Had the pressure of colonial nationalism suddenly become overwhelming? Or had the British themselves decided that they no longer needed an empire, and that interests were better served by joining the rich man's club of Europe? In this short book, these and other theories are examined critically. The aim is not to present a detailed narrative of Britain's imperial retreat but to introduce the reader to the current state of debate in a rapidly expanding subject.

The true nature of Mussolini's foreign policy during the late interwar period has been the subject of considerable controversy. Was Mussolini in reality pro-British, even as late as June 1940; or was his international policy more sinister and based on conquering a Fascist empire in North Africa and the Middle East? Robert Mallett makes use of much new archival evidence in order to answer this riddle of interwar history. Mallett argues that Mussolini had harboured imperial designs in the Mediterranean and Red Sea from as early as 1919, but that not until 1933, with the rise of Hitler, was it possible for Fascist Italy to pursue a programme of territorial expansion. Previously unpublished material also casts new light on the Nazi-Fascist relationship, revealing it to be at times paranoid, acrimonious and duplicitous on both sides. Although the book focuses on Italian policy, it provides an important reassessment of the Ethiopian Crisis, the Spanish Civil War, the Austro-German Anschluss, Munich and the run up to the Second World War. Mallett shows that it is erroneous to place excessive emphasis on the role of Adolf Hitler in subverting the interwar international order, and demonstrates that Mussolini was heavily implicated in the global conflict that erupted in September 1939.

Historians have heatedly debated the Soviet role in the origins of the Second World War for more than 50 years. At the centre of these controversies stands the question of Soviet relations with Nazi Germany and the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939. Drawing on a wealth of new material from the Soviet Archives, this detailed and original study analyses Moscow's response to the rise of Hitler, explains the origins of the Nazi-Soviet pact, and charts the road to Operation Barbarossa and the disaster of the surprise German attack on the USSR in June 1941.